Leveling device for a standard



May 29, 1956 H. R. FISHER 2,747,826

LEVELING DEVICE FOR A STANDARD Filed July 12. 1952 LEVELING DEVICE FOR A STANDARD Herbert R. Fisher, Highland Park, Ill., assignor to Garden City Plating & Manufacturing Co., a corporation of Illinois Application `luly 12, 1952, Serial No. 298,515

1 Claim. (Cl. 248243) This invention relates to a leveler for standards and is particularly concerned with means for compensating for irregularities in the surface of a wall or similar supporting surface on which a standard is to be mounted.

Where standards are to be mounted on a surface that is not flat it is extremely difficult to tighten each fastening screw just the right amount to make the standard t properly against the surface. If the standard is of thin gage metal it may even be bent by tightening the screws unevenly. When two standards areV used to support a shelf the shelf will not be level if the standards are not parallel to each other.

The present invention contemplates the use of one or more levelers that are substantially concealed within the standard and may be arranged to compensate for the irregularities in the wall surface and will provide a support whereby the fastening screws may be tightened uniformly to hold the standard rmly in a plane parallel to the general surface of the wall. The lever is adjusted with the standard held against the wall so that accuracy in leveling is easily obtained. After the leveler is adjusted the fastening screw is positioned to hold the standard in place, and the leveler can not be accidentally displaced.

The structure of the present invention by means of which the above and other advantages are attained will be described in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, showingrtwo preferred illustrative embodiments of the invention, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a pair of standards mounted on a wall and supporting brackets on which shelves are supported;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing a standard mounted on a wall having uneven surfaces;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the leveler;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the leveler look ing at the opposite face thereof;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the standard positioned adjacent the wall with the leveler in place;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, but showing the leveler in adjusted position and the fastening screw secured in place;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional View, taken along the line 7--7 of Fig 6;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional View, taken along the line 66 of Fig. 5, but showing the means for adjusting the leveler;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional View showing a modified form of leveler; and

Fig. 10 is a rear elevational view of the leveler shown in Fig. 9.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a standard of U-shaped cross section, comprising a web 3 and a pair of rearwardly extending parallel side walls 4. The web 3 is provided with a plurality of apertures 5 through which fastening screws 6 may be inserted to secure the standard to a wall 7. The apertures 5 are United States Patent O 2,747,826 Patented May 29, 1956 rice provided with beveled edges 8 so that the heads 9 of the screws 6 may be flush with the front surface of the web 3 when the screws are tightened against the standard. The web 3 is also provided with a plurality of longitudinally aligned slots 10 which are adapted to support brackets 11 on which shelves 12 may be mounted.

As shown in Fig. 2, the surface of wall 7 may be irregular so that the rear edges of side walls 4 of the standard can not fit evenly against the wall surface for their en tire length. For the purposes of illustration the wall 7 is shown as bulging outwardly between the ends of the standard 2, but it will be obvious that the irregularities of the wall surface may cause many different contours in the area against which the standard is to be secured. The normal consequence of the condition illustrated in Fig. 2 is that if the screw 6 at either end of the standard is tightened too much, the other end of the standard is forced outwardly. If the standard is made of light gage metal it may be bent transversely. In either event the standard will not lie in a plane parallel to the plane of the general surface of the wall, and will not be parallel to another standard mounted a few feet away on the same wall surface.

In accordance with my invention, a leveler, comprising a holding member 13 and an adjusting screw 14, is positioned between the side walls 4 of the standard so that it will lie between the web 3 and the surface of wall 7 when the standard is mounted against the wall. The holding member 13 comprises a at plate 15 spaced from the rear surface of web 3 by anges 16 extending forwardly from each edge of plate 15. The plate 15 is square so that the holding member 13 may be inserted between the side walls 4 of the standard with either pair of oppositely disposed flanges 16 adjacent the side walls 4. The flanges 16 fit between side walls 4 with a frictional fit so that the leveler may be moved longitudinally of the standard to any desired position and will stay in such position.

The flat plate 15 is provided with a centrally disposed threaded aperture 17 and the adjusting screw 14 has an externally threaded shank 18 threaded therein. The adjusting screw 14 also includes a flat head portion 19 which may be integral with shank 18 or may be rigidly secured thereto in any suitable manner. The shank 18 is provided with an axial bore 20 having a cross section shaped to t a wrench, such as an Allen wrench, indicated at 21 in Fig. 8. The bore 20 extends through the fiat head portion 19 of adjusting screw 14 and is large enough to permit fastening screw 6 to be inserted therethrough.

In mounting a standard on a wall it is not necessary to provide a leveler for every aperture 5, therefore it is desirable to place the standard in the position in which it is to be secured and observe the manner in which the rear edges of walls 4 fit against the surface of the wall to ascertain the locations at which levelers are desirable. One or more levelers are then positioned between the side walls 4 of the standard in the area in which adjustment is required, and are moved longitudinally to align each axial bore 20 with the aperture 5 through which the fastening screw 6 is to be inserted. The standard is then positioned against the wall 7 and one or two screws 6 may be screwed into the wall through apertures 5 adjacent which no adjustment is required. These screws should be left loose until the standard is properly leveled. The adjusting screws 14 are engaged by a wrench 21 which is extended through the aperture 5 into bore 26, and then rotated to move the flat surface 19 either towards or away from the wall surface. The final adjustment of the adjusting screws may be checked by a carpenters level, and when any portion of the standard may be pressed rearwardly without disturbing the position of the standard,

3 the levelers are properly positioned, and screws 6 may then be tightened in place to hold the standard in its proper position. The screw 6 passes through the bore 20 and coversgopening 5 so that the adjustment of the leveler will not be disturbed by normal usage, and the standards will retain their positions indenitely.

The embodiment of the leveler shown in Figs. 9 and 10 differs from the embodiment previously described only in that the holding member 22 comprises a at plate which tits frictionally between side walls 4 and does not have any flanges similar to flanges 16 of the embodiment previously described. The holding member 22 is provided with a threaded aperture 23 into which the shank 24 of an adjusting screw 25 is threaded. The shank 24`is provided with an axial bore 26 adapted to receive a wrench, and a at surface 27 is adapted to be moved into contact with the surface of the wall.

Although I have described two preferred embodiments of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claim. Thus, for example, the leveler of the present invention can be used in conjunction with plumbing and leveling of various structural members such as paneling or the like, which may be used against a surface where it is necessary to plumb or level a structural member which is then to be secured to that surface. In this use the structural members become the carrier for thc lcvcler. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structure described.

I claim:

A leveler for use with a standard having an apertured web and two side walls, to facilitate mounting said standard on uneven surfaces, said leveler comprising a holding member having a at plate adapted to t frictionally between the side walls of said standard and a plurality of flanges extending at right angles from said plate for spacing said plate from said web, an adjusting screw having a at inner end surface engageable with the uneven surface on which said standard is to be mounted and a shank threaded through said at plate, and an axial bore of non-circular cross section in said shank, said axial bore being aligned with the aperture in the web of said standard.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 944,461 Olander' Dec. 2s, 1909 1,740,553 Schmiedeknecht Dec. 24, 1929 2,476,366 Grimm July 19, 1949 2,576,865 Vanderveld Nov. 27, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 405,573 France Nov. 18, 1909 

